


(Don't) Go

by Rellanka



Series: A Year Of Cloudy Skies [36]
Category: Final Fantasy VII (Video Game 1997), Final Fantasy VII Remake (Video Game 2020)
Genre: Angst and Feels, Angst with a Happy Ending, Attempted Maniplation, But Rufus rejects this, Established Relationship, M/M, Mention of onesided Sehiroth/Cloud, Rufus is Bad at Feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-07
Updated: 2020-06-07
Packaged: 2021-03-03 22:42:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,015
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24583246
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rellanka/pseuds/Rellanka
Summary: He and Cloud are getting far too close. Rufus sets things in motion to take care of that.
Relationships: Rufus Shinra/Cloud Strife
Series: A Year Of Cloudy Skies [36]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1697269
Comments: 3
Kudos: 178





	(Don't) Go

Rufus frowned as he rolled over and pushed himself up to extract himself from the bed. He felt… surprisingly reluctant to leave the form currently splayed over the sheets with an unconscious innocence, flawless skin stretched over a sleek musculature in a picture that would not be out of place framed and on display in some museum. 

Rufus shouldn’t be enjoying the sight like he was. He should be frustrated that his partner hadn’t left after Rufus had taken his pleasure in his body, should have kicked the man out himself after he’d gotten done exploring every inch of the man’s skin. 

The man shouldn’t even be here in the first place, because Rufus didn’t sleep with someone more than once, and the fact that this had happened so often that Rufus had lost count of the times that this man had been in his bed, was…

Troubling. 

For once, he really should have listened to Tseng’s warning when it came to Cloud Strife. Said warning may have had very little to do with Rufus’… current preoccupation, such a thing being unexpected to even Tseng’s sharp mind, but staying away from Cloud for any reason, even when that reason was the way that the General’s all seemed to have grown fond of the boy in some way, might have been the better idea. 

Cloud was making him… distracted, off-balance, uncertain about future plans that he used to be sure of. He made him feel things that Rufus had never felt before, want things he used to scoff at. For once, Rufus wanted more of someone’s time, rather than for them to go away so that they would stop wasting his. For once he actually wanted to learn everything about someone without wanting to use that information to manipulate them. For once, he wanted to please someone else; not to get something, but just to see that person smile. 

For once he felt happy, and now it was as if he had been given that emotion only to realize how miserable he’d been without it. 

Rufus clenched his teeth and went to his closet to start putting his clothes on with stiff, jerky movements. 

Cloud would see himself out when he woke up. 

Out of Rufus’s room and later, should Rufus’s plans come to fruition, out of Rufus’s life. 

*** 

It wasn’t, really, difficult to decide the best way to ensure that Cloud extracted his life from Rufus’s, though it had a distinct lack of life ruination that was typically involved in Rufus’ plans. 

Hell, this even had a chance of making all other parties _happy_. 

_Look, Mother._ Rufus thought with a morbid type of humor, _I’m starting to learn how to share my toys. Aren’t you proud?_

He frowned as some deeply buried part of him rebelled at thinking of Cloud as a toy. Things had grown worse than he had thought. 

Good thing that he was currently working on fixing it. 

As if summoned by his thoughts, a knock sounded at the door, and he glanced up and called for Tseng to enter. 

“I trust you have good news for me?” He asked, his face carefully and perfectly composed as Tseng fell into parade rest in front of his desk. 

Tseng was nearly as unreadable as he ever was as he stood there. Nearly, because the slight wrinkle on his forehead and around his eye’s gave away the frown that he was trying to conceal with his usual blank façade. “I can confirm that they were locked in the training room on Deck 5 for several hours. I can also confirm that the room was arranged to your specifications. As you requested, we made it as romantic a set up as we could, without changing the layout of the room too noticeably. Unfortunately, there was an issue with the audio and we lost it after the first few minutes, but visual remained up. They appeared to be discussing something rather closely by the end. I’ve got an agent good at lip reading trying to work out what it was, but it appears that the operation was successful. A little before we opened the doors, I observed Sephiroth stroking Strife’s cheek with his hand.”

Rufus wasn’t able to stop his hand from clenching around his pen tightly when Tseng brought up Sephiroth touching Cloud. He took a deep breath and forcibly reminded himself that Sephiroth touching Cloud had been the entire fucking **point**. He allowed himself the indulgence of a few quick curses inside his head before he pasted a smug smirk on his face while staring at some point over Tseng’s shoulder. 

“Good. Well, the lack of audio is regrettable, I admit- I really do expect more of the Turks- but it seems as if things went as planned and the goal was achieved so it’s the results that count, I suppose. Make sure to monitor the situation to ensure that it continues to go as planned… perhaps drop some hints in the man’s ear that the company would be willing to overlook a relationship between a General and a Third when the General is Sephiroth, if need be. Cloud- we’d hate to have the relationship ruined over some rules and regulations, wouldn’t we? All this good karma I’ve received over this selfless matchmaking session would be ruined.” He nearly bit his tongue off to keep himself from continuing by saying that Cloud deserved better than to have his happiness ruined by Shinra, thankfully covering over the slip fairly smoothly. It revealed… far more than he wanted to.

But apparently it hadn’t been smooth enough, because the wrinkles on Tseng’s face deepened, and he began to say uncertainly, “Rufus, are you sure-“ when someone very familiar barged into Rufus’ office. 

Rufus and Tseng both froze as they both watched Cloud approach, Tseng having defensively reached into his coat as he turned toward the disturbance. Cloud’s face was dark as he walked towards them quickly, brushing past Tseng to walk to the desk and…

Sweep his arm over the whole thing, sending electronics, pens, pencils, paperwork and everything else flying to the ground where the broken screen monitor sparked slightly. Rufus stared blankly up at the man, now braced with both hands pressed flat to the now empty desk. 

Well.

That had been rather unearned, Rufus thought a little bitterly. And it was going to take ages to get this mess sorted out. 

He only allowed himself a brief moment of shock to survey the damage he could see before quickly calling off Tseng, who, as Rufus had expected, had his gun out and pointed squarely at Cloud’s forehead. 

Even liking Cloud as he did Tseng was reluctant to lower his gun from the threat to his boss, Rufus could tell. But the gun was still lowered obediently enough, even as it stayed in the Turk’s hand. 

It was obvious that Rufus was going to let the incident pass without punishment, but Cloud, unfairly, didn’t look much less angry than he had before he’d rearranged Rufus's desk. Even though he’d just gotten away with something no other man had ever been allowed to do without suffering some sort of repercussion, occasionally escalating all the way up to death. 

_My father would think me weak or insane if he knew the sort of things I let you get away with._ Rufus thought absently as he stared into icy blue eyes that were practically spitting sparks in their fury. 

Maybe some flying piece of debris from the desk had hit him without him noticing, had concussed him somehow, because oddly… Rufus felt light and almost giddy at seeing Cloud, even like this.

At seeing Cloud _here_ with _him_ , and not with Sephiroth. 

He pushed the thought away stubbornly, but the feeling remained. 

“Have I done something to bother you, Strife?” he asked, inwardly scolding himself when it came out more teasingly then he’d meant, though hopefully it’d been subtle enough to mask that.

Cloud looked much like an angry wolf might right before it tore out your throat, tense and poised and just barely holding back from exploding into a fury of movement. He looked like he was going to punch Rufus at any moment. He looked breathtakingly beautiful. Rufus absently hoped that Cloud didn’t actually punch him, though. He might possibly deserve it, but though he had been successful in halting Tseng from shooting Cloud the first time, he might not be so lucky the second. 

“Why. Are you ordering. The Turks. To try to get me to cheat on you.” Cloud bit out sharply after a visible effort to compose himself.

Rufus’ breath caught in his lungs, his body turning to stone at Cloud’s unexpected knowledge of his plans. It took a few moments of expectant staring on Cloud’s part before he was able to finally able to breathe with an appearance of normality again and compose himself enough to answer, “Cheating implies a relationship, Cloud. I don’t know what our dalliances have led you to believe, but that’s something I have to inform you that we don’t have.”

“Bullshit.” Cloud snorted in Rufus’ face, crossing his arms and regarding him as if he were being a difficult child, “People not in a relationship don’t make up ridiculous excuses to call each other into their offices just to have hour long discussions. People not in relationships don’t send texts or get their underlings to check up on the other during the day, or seem concerned in their own way if the day went poorly. People not in relationships don’t watch stupid documentaries just because the other wants to. People not in relationships may sleep together, but not as often as we do. Not to an extent that they become comfortable with one another, rather than just trying to get each other off as fast as possible. People not in relationships certainly don’t stay the night at each other’s places most times.”

Cloud frowned and paused here, “The only point that backs you up is that people **in** relationships don’t usually concoct elaborate setups that lead to their partner having to reject one of his closest friends.”

Rufus tried to frown, but the urge to smile was too great and he ended up with what was likely an odd looking pinched expression. It felt like the weight that had been hanging around his neck since his morning meeting with Tseng had finally been lifted off his chest as Cloud finished his speech. As Rufus was given confirmation that the Turks operation had actually failed, and failed badly. Rufus had never had cause to be glad of a thing like that before. 

“You rejected Sephiroth?” He asked, his voice revealing far more of his true emotions than he wanted to, hopeful and light with happiness. 

Cloud sighed and finally relaxed, his eyes softening as he took Rufus in and apparently chose to finally forgive him for the way he had made a mess of things in a mistaken attempt to deny what was growing between the two of them. 

“I rejected Sephiroth.” He confirmed, before continuing, “And I’d like to go to lunch with my boyfriend now. Pretty sure we need to discuss some things- before any more confusion happens.” 

Boyfriend. It was such a childish term. Rufus should be rejecting it completely, should be rejecting **Cloud** completely, but…

Instead Rufus bowed his head in graceful acknowledgement, making only a token effort to continue to keep the smile from his face. That unfamiliar feeling, bubbly and warm and safe and _happy_ rose up in him once again, and for once Rufus willingly accepted defeat. _All right, you win._ he admitted inwardly as he stared into Cloud’s eyes, the color of them something that Rufus never wanted to have cause to forget, that he wanted regular reminders of so that he would never have cause to forget them.

“I suppose,” he said softly, almost teasingly, feeling like a new fawn testing their legs for the first time with this unsteady ground, “that I could clear my schedule for lunch.”

**Author's Note:**

> This is kind of reverse of my last Rufus/Cloud fic where Rufus stole Cloud from Seph. In this one, he tries to toss Cloud **at** Seph, only to find that his lover is a little too stubborn for that.


End file.
